12 Day Cape York & Beyond
This tour is categorised as 3 out of 5
Balanced exploration with walking tours: Our most popular style, this tour offers a good mix of planned activities and free time. Expect moderate daily walking tours, so pack comfortable shoes.
As a general requirement across all of our trips, you may be required to walk up and down stairs, get on and off transportation, handle your own luggage, and participate in all scheduled sightseeing that may be conducted on uneven ground and terrain. Any physical ailments you may have must be disclosed at the time of booking to determine your suitability and where required, supporting documentation may be requested to ensure that we are comfortable that you will enjoy your trip.
Experience a superior level of comfort. Our Small Group tours have been crafted for Inspiring Vacations travellers exclusively, with personal and unique experiences in mind. Travel with no more than 26 people, allowing for a more personalised and immersive experience. Please see the Important Information on your selected tour for the exact group size.
This tour features a combination of escorted and independent travel. Part of your journey will be enjoyed as a group experience, led by expert tour leaders or local guides. The remainder is self-guided—whether by rail, cruise, or overland—allowing you the freedom to travel between destinations independently and explore at your own pace.
✓ Small group tour, up to 25 guests only
✓ Incredible sightseeing, visit the Daintree, Cape Tribulation, drive the incredible Bloomfield Track, see UNESCO Aboriginal rock art, swim Fruit Bat Falls and stand on the north point of Cape York
✓ 11 nights’ accommodation in hotels and lodges including the spectacular 4 star Palm Cove beach break
✓ Daily breakfast, 5 Lunches, 6 dinners
✓ Fully escorted by professional tour leader day 2 - 8
✓ Dedicated, comfortable air-conditioned 4WD transportation
✓ Flight from Cairns to Horn Island (or visa versa)
✓ In depth sightseeing throughout
Travel with the experts for a carefully curated, value-packed discovery of the world's most iconic destinations. Our tours are bursting with must-see sights, rich experiences and quality inclusions, all at an unbeatable price. Bucket list dreams are ticked off on these all-encompassing journeys.
Welcome to Cairns. On arrival in to Cairns, make your own way to your accommodation. After check-in, enjoy your tropical surroundings.
After an early morning pick up from your hotel your adventure begins. Travelling north along the scenic Captain Cook Highway, through the World Heritage listed Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the reef. Then making our way along the jungle shrouded Bloomfield Track (road conditions permitted), stopping off at the unique Lion’s Den Hotel, and the mysterious Black Mountain, arriving at the old gold port of Cooktown, where we visit Captain Cooks Landing, before settling in our accommodation with ensuite facilities.
Today you head west into the outback, visit Split Rock, Aboriginal Rock Art. Then travel on to explore Lakefield National Park (road conditions permitted), a haven for the many birds and animals native to this area. Lagoons, billabongs, and wide river lakes are home to both fresh and saltwater crocodiles. The afternoon finds us arriving at our overnight accommodation at The Old Musgrave telegraph station - ensuite facilities.
This morning, we continue north stopping off at the historic frontier gold town of Coen and the picturesque Archer River, before making our way to the bauxite-mining town of Weipa. Enjoy the spectacular sunset over the Gulf of Carpentaria. Accommodation with ensuite facilities.
This morning you have ample time to explore the township of Weipa, or you have the option to join a Wildlife Eco River Cruise (own expense). After lunch, we head for our overnight accommodation with ensuite facilities at a 'true blue' Aussie cattle station, Bramwell Station.
After an early start, we head north travelling along part of the Old Telegraph Track to arrive at Fruit Bat Falls for lunch. Relax, swim, and enjoy this unique area with its enchanting waterfall. Then northwards across the Jardine River, to arrive at Cape York! We will be staying at Seisia.
Seisia is ideally located for our next few days, being in walking distance from the Seisia Wharf, the departure point for the ferry to Thursday Island and a famous fishing spot. Our accommodation at Seisia Holiday Park are cottages with ensuite facilities.
An unforgettable day! Stand at the very top of mainland Australia. We then visit Somerset (road conditions permitted), once the home of the legendary Jardine family. We have lunch on palm fringed Anchorage Beach which Overlooks the Albany Passage. A walk on the beach completes your day before returning to Seisia.
An early morning departure as you cruise through island studded straits to explore our northern community, Thursday Island. Here you will be taken on an informative guided bus tour of the island and its picturesque Harbour, once home to the romantic pearl lugger fleet. Then board your plane at Horn Island for your flight back to Cairns. Arriving late afternoon in Cairns your tour finishes with a drop off at your hotel.
This morning you will be transferred by seat in coach from your accommodation in Cairns to Palm Cove
Enjoy a full day at leisure in tropical Palm Cove.
A great way to start your day is breakfast at Hartley's Crocodile Adventures. Enjoy your breakfast relaxing on the deck overlooking Hartley's Lagoon. Breakfast is a delicious cooked breakfast, including scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausages & toast with fruit juice, tea or coffee. One of our Wildlife Keepers will be on the deck between 9:00am & 9:30am with a Koala. This is a great time to ask questions & pat the Koala. After breakfast, enjoy all the wildlife presentations at Hartley's Crocodile Adventures including a boat cruise on Hartley's Lagoon.
Enjoy a full day at leisure in tropical Palm Cove.
Start your day with a trip on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, winding your way up the mountain through rainforest, past waterfalls and including a stop at the breathtaking Barron Gorge. Enjoy a tour across land and water on the historic World War II Army Ducks at the award-winning Rainforestation Nature Park, spotting flora and fauna in their natural habitat, and then finish your day with a peaceful return to Cairns on Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.
Enjoy breakfast at your resort before checking out and continuing your onward journey.
Inspiring Vacations has been globally recognised and awarded for its handling of COVID-19 during the pandemic. The safety and wellbeing of our guests is our highest concern during this time of uncertainty, and we are continuously monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation.
We have adopted the advice of the WHO to ensure all customers can travel with the knowledge of how to travel safely and with confidence.
Australian owned and operated with 100% Australian Customer Service support
We are proudly 100% Australian owned and operated, with our head office located in Melbourne, Victoria. When you make your booking, you will receive dedicated and ongoing support from our team of travel professionals throughout your booking, up until you are due to depart.
Cooling off period
If you change your mind within 7 days of making your booking online, you can request a refund of your initial deposit payment as part of our cooling off period. Once your purchase date falls outside of the 7 day period, our standard terms and conditions will apply.
Please ensure that any request to cancel your booking is received via email to [email protected], including the reason for cancellation.
Deposit & Payments
Booking Process
Booking On Request
To enhance your journey, we are offering guests a choice of the following optional activities (prices are per person):
Optional tours can be selected once you have finalised your tour purchase and paid your deposit. When completing your Passenger Booking Form, you will be asked if you would like to add Optional Tours, where any applicable cost will be added to your final balance. If you choose not to select them at this time, you can choose to add them later by logging in to your Account online or speaking with your Dedicated Support Agent for assistance.
Please note that you must select your Optional Tours no later than 65 days before departure, after which you will be required to purchase them on tour. Please keep in mind that anything purchased on-tour is subject to availability. We appreciate your understanding.
COVID-19
Due to COVID there maybe disruptions to standard operating schedules of particular components of this itinerary. Should a component be effected a substitute will be confirmed prior to departure.
Fitness Requirements
While the tour itinerary should give you some guidance and overview to the expected requirements, to determine if this tour is right for you we categorise each of our tours in terms of their intensity. These guidelines are to ensure that each tour group is conducted as expected and to ensure the overall satisfaction of all Inspiring Vacations customers.
As a general rule, porterage is not included, therefore at all times you are expected to handle your own luggage where help may not be available.
This particular tour is categorised as a “3”:
3 – Moderate Tour: A good level of fitness and mobility is required, as this tour includes a moderate level of physical activity and is considered a medium-fast paced tour. You should be able to walk up and down stairs, get on and off the coach and able to walk reasonable distances of approximately 2 kilometres per day or more with ease. Any physical ailments you may have must be disclosed at the time of booking to determine your suitability. If you have any form of walking aids, other than a walking stick or hiking poles, then this tour is not suitable.
Accommodation
The accommodation listed is subject to change. Any changes will be of an equal or higher standard. Bedding configurations (double or twin) are requests only. All efforts will be made to meet your preferences however any changes are beyond our control.
Single Supplement
Single supplement is available on this tour at a cost of $4,738
Triple Share
Not Available
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is required to protect yourself against the unexpected.
Tour Documentation
Final documentation and hotel details will be provided approximately 30 days prior to travel.
Group Size
10 to 25 people.
Children
Children must be 5 years old or over and share a room with parents at all times. Children are the same price as adults.
Bedding requests
We do our best to meet your bedding preference, however, bedding configurations (double or twin) are requests only and cannot be guaranteed. All efforts will be made to meet your preference, however, any changes are beyond our control and limited by the hotel facilities and availability.
Tour Styles - This package is a Partially Escorted style.
To meet the needs of various types of travellers, we choose to operate various types of tours and depending on your selected package will mean different services are provided throughout your trip. The following descriptions of each tour style we hope will ensure that each traveller has appropriate expectations before they start their travels:
Who is operating this package
We have partnered with a wide range of third party operators who assist in fulfilling your booking and delivering an enjoyable on-tour experience. Each package will consist of multiple operators meaning both guides and fellow travellers may change day to day. But don't worry, regardless of the operator, you'll be in good hands to experience the most out of each destination.
Please note, this itinerary does operate in reverse on select dates. Please CLICK HERE to access the itinerary in the reverse order.
You can enhance your holiday by arriving early or staying longer upon conclusion of the tour. On this tour you can choose from the following options:
Pre and post tour accommodation
Pre and Post accommodation is subject to availability and pricing may differ based on your season of travel.
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